A Mother Is a House

A contemporary and original gift book, celebrating modern motherhood and mothers. 

The Times Children’s Book of the Week.

In this eye-catching, neon-bright picture book, a baby sees their mother in every aspect of their day from birth to first steps. 

A mother's a house,

She's a car in a rush,

She's a lullaby hush.

As the pages go by, the child grows. The mother becomes a road, a story and a show, the illustrations at times literal, unexpected. On the final page, the child is ready to take their first steps. Because a mother is a home that you carry inside you forever.

Offering a unique baby’s eye view of the first year, A Mother Is a House contains all of the funny observations and emotions of a mother and child’s first year together—shown through bright, modern illustrations and special inks.

A chic and stylish gift book for expectant parents, baby showers, new mums, Mother’s Day, or as a celebratory gift for daughters and grandparents. 

Translated from the French by Daniel Hahn.

“"Petit uses metaphors to describe the different jobs mothers do. This French import via New Zealand opens with the pregnant mother lying on the couch, her partner's hand atop her belly: 'A mother's a house.' Across the gutter, 'She's a car in a rush' as the two stride down the sidewalk. With the page turn, she's a 'lullaby hush,' the baby in her arms. A 'permanent fountain' shows her breastfeeding, and she's a 'wall' when she blocks the now-crawling tot from her toolbox and a ladder. She serves as an island when the two are soaking in the bathtub, the babe's tush in the air, and readers see the mother's bare bum and a side view of her breast (and nipple) when she's compared to 'a picture' in a pose that evokes impressionist art. While a changing rhyme scheme makes reading this aloud a bit of a challenge, the fact that the phrases are scattered across page turns makes this less of a drawback, especially since children may want to pause to see how a mom is a 'kangaroo pouch' or a 'roof in the street.' Mom has pink skin and brown hair; her partner and child share lighter coloring and grayish-greenish hair. What's most striking about the book, though, is its use of intense neon colors both for details and large swaths of the illustrations and for the text itself. The final metaphor says it all: 'A mother's a home.'"--Kirkus Reviews”

"This book is really a wonderful celebration of all things involved in being a mother to a young child–both the enjoyable and the more challenging aspects."

"Gorgeously illustrated, refreshingly real and oh so touching, we think this book is just glorious."

"What’s most striking about the book, though, is its use of intense neon colors both for details and large swaths of the illustrations and for the text itself. The final metaphor says it all: “A mother’s a home.” "

Children's Book of the Week
"Daniel Hahn is a careful, creative translator and his lovely sing-along lines avoid cliché. The tone is never cloying—a feat in a paean to mums for this age group."

Aurore Petit is one of a new young generation of French illustrators to emerge from the influential School of Decorative Arts in Strasbourg. She lives in Paris.

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